-1

This is hypothetical, but I am still wondering:

What would happen to the currently "halted" (How long can the Speaker of the House wait to pass the impeachment to the Senate?) impeachment process, if a high-profile russian Official (or even Putin himself) would declare, they indeed meddled with Trumps election in his favor?

Now, this would technically be not relevant, because it was before Trumps presidency, but given the impeachment is mostly a political process, would it matter anyway?

Question:

Would it be irrelevant or likely to have an impact to impeachment now?

Improve this question
1
  • 5
    Nothing? There is very little sign that the pro Trump Republican faction will be affected by evidence. – pjc50 Jan 6 '20 at 8:36
5

The articles of impeachment voted in the House don't include anything about Russia, so anything that Russia would admit (about their own election interference) would be rather irrelevant in the narrow context of Trump's impeachment, which is about the Ukraine call and [alleged withholding of] aid.

If the Ukrainian leadership changed their tune and admitted feeling pressured (which insofar they have repeatedly denied) it would undermine one of the Republican counterpoints.

Furthermore, Russia admitting interference in the 2016 US elections would make little difference to Trump's general standing in US public opinion, unless Russia provided irrefutable proof that it collaborated with Trump's campaign on the matter. Trump changed his position a few times on whether he believed Russia interfered, but he was always adamant that there was "no collusion" between Russian efforts and his campaign. Only this latter, collusion point would be truly damaging for Trump's standing in the public eye.

Improve this answer
0

What would happen to the impeachment process […]?

The impeachment is over. President Trump has already been irreversibly impeached.
Impeachment does not in itself remove the official definitively from office, and the removal is the phase the process is in.
The House is waiting for more hearings in order to prepare a more detailed paperwork to the Senate.
The two articles of impeachment against Trump are all about Trump's actions:

  • Article I: Abuse of Power

    Using the powers of his high office, President Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election.

  • Article II: Obstruction of Congress

    […] without lawful cause or excuse, President Trump directed Executive Branch agencies, offices, and officials not to comply with those subpoenas. President Trump thus interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, and assumed to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the “sole Power of Impeachment” vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives.

So it seems that no confession by a foreign force can change anything here.

Improve this answer
3
  • 1
    Actually if the Ukrainians changed their tune and admitted feeling pressured it would undermine one of the Republican counterpoints, so your last sentence is probably incorrect. But the articles of impeachment voted don't include anything about Russia, so anything that Russia would admit would be rather irrelevant in the narrow context of impeachment. – Fizz Jan 6 '20 at 9:46
  • The impeachment is over. President Trump has already been irreversibly impeached. The House has positively voted to impeach, but have not impeached yet. – Based Jan 6 '20 at 10:27
  • There's nothing stopping the house from passing additional articles of impeachment at any time. – SurpriseDog Jan 6 '20 at 23:20

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .